The Alvarez family: Image via NBC.com
On the eighth and final episode of Losing it with Jillian, we witnessed Jillian Michaels work her magic on the Alvarez family from Florida.
Part of a large, close knit, Cuban extended family, the Alvarez family of Hialeah Gardens, Florida have a growing problem. Their son, David Jr, is already pre-diabetic. David Jr. is only nine-years-old but unfortunately is already well on the way to health complications due to his weight.
David Jr. already suffers taunts at school about his size, and his angry reactions to being teased have got him into trouble. He is tired of being teased, he wants it to stop, but one of his biggest problems is his father, David Sr who tops the scales at 328 pounds and has sleep apnea, due to his weight.
David Sr. is overweight but he fails to see that it is a problem that needs to be fixed. David Jr. idolizes his father, so Jillian needs David Sr. to admit there is a problem before she can do anything to help the family.
It wasn’t until Jillian got through to mom, Carmen that the rest of the Alvarez family started to turn it around. From getting Carmen into the gym to workout and David Jr. to the dojo for karate class, Jillian starts to slowly overhaul the family’s perception of exercise. She also introduces them to the BodyBugg device, a calorie tracker tool, and Michaels takes the family to the farmers market to load up on fresh fruits and veggies, which were near non-existent in the Alvarez kitchen before the trainer arrived.
When she returned six weeks later, she is more than excited to see that both Carmen and David Jr. lost 25 pounds each and David Sr. lost 52 pounds!
The past week’s episode was the final episode of the Losing it with Jillian series. Stay tuned to DietsInReview.com to find out if we’ll see another series of Jillian’s week-long interventions with families in need of a health makeover.
In the meantime, here are the Losing it with Jillian recaps: